One of the most well known and pervasive product container/dispensers within the marketplace is the squeezable tube. This simple device also known by other names such as deformable tube, dispensing tube, or toothpaste tube has become the container of choice for most viscous commercial or industrial materials. Such tubes are often referred to generically as "toothpaste tubes" because of their initial popularity in the packaging of toothpaste products. However, despite this generic use of the term toothpaste tubes, such squeezable container/dispensers are used in a virtually endless number of products. Without exaggeration, one can say that squeezable tubes have been used to package and dispense virtually every viscous paste-like material such as adhesive, hair products, gels, ointments, caulk and so on.
The basic structure of such squeezable tubes is deceptively simple in that they utilize a long somewhat cylindrical hollow tube formed of a flexible material and having one end closed and the other end joined to a head which supports a neck or spout for dispensing. The neck or spout is usually cylindrical and usually defines a circular bore therethrough. However, certain materials are provided in cone-shaped or tapered neck structures. The closed end of the tube is usually formed by simply flattening and sealing the bottom end. A closure of the spout is provided by a removable cap usually through the use of cooperating threads or snap-fit apparatus. In still other tubes, however, the cap is configured to remain secured to the spout and is provided with an independent snap-fitted usually pivotally secured cap. In the early manufacture of such squeezable tubes, the tube was fabricated of a ductile metal or very thick foil material. However, in recent years, a greater number of squeezable tubes are manufactured using a flexible plastic tube material.
The use of squeezable tubes for a container/dispenser is deceptively simple in that the contents are dispensed by removing the cap and squeezing the tube portion with sufficient force to extrude the contents outwardly through the spout. As the contents are dispensed, the tube tends to flatten.
Despite the basic simplicity of the use of squeezable tube container/dispensers, often vexing problems arise as the material within the tube is dispensed. The flattening of the tube is not controlled and thus simply flattens wherever squeezed. As time goes by, the contents tend to be distributed unevenly throughout the flattening tube. As a result, the user must periodically, if not continuously, manipulate the tube to flatten the partially filled tube from the closed end bottom toward the head end. This process is necessary to avoid undesired waste and uneven distribution of the material within the tube. Failure to maintain the flattening of the tube from the bottom can make effective even dispensing of the contents virtually impossible.
Notsurprisingly, practitioners in the art have recognized the problems associated with effective use of squeezable tube container/dispensers and have produced a variety of devices to be used in combination with squeezable tubes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,787 issued to Wright sets forth a CLAMP FOR TUBE DISPENSERS having upper and lower arm portions defining a straight trailing side and a forward side having a curved portion. The members are joined at each end and spaced apart to maintain separation which facilitates inserting the flattened closed end of a tube through the space between arm members. As the contents are exhausted in the tube, the clamp is progressively moved upwardly toward the head end.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,636 issued to Drancourt sets forth a TUBE SQUEEZING DEVICE having two jaws pivotally connected to each other which each jaw providing a squeezing cylinder. The tube is held between the two cylinders and means are provided for rotation of one of the squeezing cylinders to advance the device along the tube. Means are also provided for preventing reverse movement of the device as it is squeezed over the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,839 issued to Miller sets forth a CONTROL CLIP FOR USE WITH A TOOTHPASTE TUBE formed of a resilient material having an integrally attached front and back member. The front member terminates in an inwardly depending lip which, when engaging the edge of a fold made in the emptied portion of a tube, prevents the coil from unfolding and the tube from slipping from the clip. In the use of the control clip, the user periodically rolls the unused end of the container tube into a flattened roll and thereafter slips the clip onto the tube to contain the flattened roll.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,782 issued to Meinerding, et al. sets forth a CONTENTS-SAVER PLASTIC DISPENSING TUBE having a resilient means such as a rubber band attached to the bottom of the tube to prevent the bottom of the tube from unwinding after it has been wound.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,567 issued to Featherstone sets forth a COLLAPSIBLE TUBE HOLDING BRACKET for retaining a tube on a vertical wall surface having a flat supporting plate adjustably and movably adhered to a wall surface. A spring clip is positioned to clamp the closed end of an inverted tube and secure it to the plate. A L-shaped bracket is secured to the plate beneath the clamp and defines an aperture for receiving the tube neck.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 251,124 issued to Takeuchi sets forth a PAPER CLIP having a flat plate defining a generally rectangular shape supporting a resilient spring clip secured to one edge of the plate. The removing end of the spring clip defines a curved grasping edge extending toward the plate.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have to some extent improved the art and have in some instances enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for a low cost, effective and easy to use holder and squeezing device for tube dispensers.